Page 51 of Jep

“But not Lawson’s.”

“We’re working on him.”

“It’s good to see you, and I appreciate the effort, but there’s no point me coming back if Lawson’s going to keep me caged. I won’t work under his direction. It wouldn’t be good for either one of us.”

“Pearce said he’d take care of it. And—” she took a deep breath. “I’ll still be your partner if you want.”

He chuckled. “Say it like you mean it.”

“Idomean it. If you still want me. But I’d understand if you’d prefer someone better trained.”

He had conflicting emotions he wasn’t expecting. “I wouldn’t ask that of you. You’d be off the hook. I could probably work okay with Pearce.”

“No! I mean. No. I’d like to still be your partner. It’s up to you. But if you meant what you said before. Unless…no. You’re right. You’d be better off with—whatever. Forget I said anything.”

“Are you saying youwantto be my partner?”

“I— Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because. There’s no one else in the office who believes in me the way you do. No one else trusts my instincts. To them, all I am is an analyst. I’m not supposed to have gut feelings, and yet, I knew something wasn’t right. I knew that the last mission was going to be a disaster.”

That got his attention. “You did?”

“Yeah. But I didn’t have any data to back up my feelings, so I was dismissed.”

“I knew it.”

“Knew what?”

“That I’d picked the right partner. How’d you know something was wrong?”

“I told you. I just knew.”

“Yeah, but your instincts come from putting together what others don’t notice. What did you see that the other’s missed?”

“I really don’t know this time. I tried to find it because it would be impossible to convince Gardener or Lawson that there was reason for concern without solid evidence. I spent hours poring through the case files. I had these ghosts of memory about details I thought were there, but then I couldn’t find them.”

“There were gaps?”

“I don’t know. I just…I couldn’t find what I thought was there.”

“Come with me,” he said.

She followed him into his office, where he set up a folding chair for her.

“Is this your office?” she said.

“I know it’s a mess. A tidy office space is not my forte. Can I get you anything? Tea, coffee, water?”

“No, I’m fine, thanks. What did you want to show me?”

He pulled a rolling chair from behind his desk and sat close to her. “Tell me what details made you uncomfortable with the operation. I know you said you couldn’t find them, but tell me what you expected to find. What were the signs you noticed? Take your time. Think back.”

“It started with the previous missions. You know we were getting very little intel, and whenever we did get something, they had already cleared out before we could get there. One time, we were contacted by local police on a B&E that was in progress at a factory, but we missed it.”

“Yeah. I read that.”

---